Austrians go to the polls today to vote, in a direct process, for their president for the next six years. Thank goodness the president doesn’t have much power, although, unfortunately, he or she does have a strong representative role outside the country, because in the last few days there are signs that the candidate from the FPÖ (the extreme right-wing nationalist party) has pulled ahead. The other frontrunner (the former head of the Green Party) still has a chance though. With six candidates for the job and a requirement that the winner have an absolute majority, it seems likely that Austrians will be going back to the polls in May. Stay tuned …

There has been so much EU bashing recently I think most of us have started to overlook why it was started. Here is a project that seeks to put us back in touch with what has happened in different European cities to foster peace. A (walking) tour with a somewhat unusual focus:http://www.discoverpeace.eu/choose-a-city/

You might want to wait until the heatwave is over, though, before taking advantage of it.